have any of you had success with the atkins diet?

Question

i tried it once for 2 weeks, i thought "oh,great, i can eat bacon and eggs,cheese,meat galore. i can do this" but: it was sooooo hard not to eat bread,fruit,veggies. i may try it again. not sure.

Answer 1

Yes i went from a 60 inch waist to a 42 inch waist in about three or four months using my own variation of the adkins diet. I didnt cut out carbohydrates all together but i made sure that if i ate carbohydrates that it was only from foods that contained enough vitamins and fiber and such to justify the carbohydrates. I ate mostly pork and vegitables during this time. Unsweetened grapefruit Juice, Carrot Juice, and salads made with spring mix being my main source of the carbs i did eat (note vitamin content on bag of spring mix and potasium content in grapefruit juice) Okay essential point here though if you are doing adkins it is very importaint to one get enough water and two supplement potasium and also calcium, and magnesium in equal parts in a relatively high dosage as protein inhibits calcium absorbtion and there are some nasty side effects that you can suffer if you dont follow that advice. I know i experienced it. Cal Mag Zinc supplents are good but they often do not have enough magnesium. Your nerves need these minerals and the loss of potasium in fluid and electrolyte loss from you body not retaining fluids will make you feel not so good if you do not do the proper supplementation. Plus enough fiber is key to get that protein to move through you. more nasty side effects happened to me there as well. I found that i could not maintain all the weight loss in the long run and now 3 or so years later i am back to a 50 inch waist currently but adkins did rip the weight off of me initally. I think that exercize is really the best path health wise with adkins as a secondary line of attack against extra weight as the main cause of the return of extra pounds in my case was a drop in the level of exercize i was combining with adkins. Plus i lost the discipline level i had initally restricting carbohydrates. Adkins i not an easy thing to do you will feel like you are starving and it is not necessarily easy on your mental health at least that is my experience.

Answer 2

Try the fat flush - similar concept, no refined carbs or sugar, but minimal amounts of certain fruits are allowed as well as only healthy meats and veggies. I tried the Atkins - my sweet tooth is a problem and at least on the fat flush, I could satisfy it a bit with some fruits. It's by Dr. Ann Louise Gittleman.

Info on fat flush: http://diets.aol.com/a-z/fatflush_diet_main

Compare the various low-carb diets: http://diet.ivillage.com/plans/plowcarb/0,,rsr1,00.html

Answer 3

The reason it was so hard is bc you have been eating things like bread and candy for so long that it takes a bit to get it out of your system. After not eating food like white flour I feel much better every single day not to mention i look good too. When I "treat" my self to foods high in sugar or flour or whatever - I feel like CRAP for days until I go back to my regular diet!

Answer 4

Your experience is typical of most diets that rely on one trick or another. Almost all will work in the short term but all will fail and the weight comes back, usually more. Best bet is a balanced diet in moderation, including your paticular vice, and an increase in activity. Eat fewer calories, burn more calories, it's really the only thing that works in the long term.

Answer 5

Instead of the Atkins diet, go on Jenny Creg!!!